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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Trade Central Station: Tales Of The Batman: Gene Colan Vol.1

Buy this book now!

Before i head out to New York Comic Con i sat down and read this hardcover that DC Comics put out not to long ago. I wish all comics were as good as this. I was a throw back to when most comics were done in one. And might i add they were done quite well. From the first page DC let everybody in the comics world know that Gene Colan was now drawing Batman. Hell on the cover it tells you that DC has reunited Roy Thomas and Gene Colan. I can only imagine what it must have been to be a kid back in the late 70's and see that i made who redefined Daredevil was now working on Batman. Hell I'm 26 now and i spent hours looking over the pages in this book.

The first few stories are pretty much OK. You have Batman solving murders and trying to keep Vicki Vale from blowing the lid on his secret identity. Batman has a falling out with Robin over the fact that Robin has left college to follow his roots with the Haley Circus. I enjoyed that Bruce has closed up Wayne Manor and moved the Bat cave to downtown Gotham in order to be closer to the action. The book also has a bit of politics thrown into it.

One of the candidates for Gotham City Mayor is making a name for himself by throwing the Batman under the bus to win votes. The other is doing the same thing but instead he is using Commissioner Gordon as cannon fodder. The anti-Gordon candidate wins and while trying to get Gordon off the force teams him up with the worst cop of them all, Harvey Bullock. Harvey in these stories is really an asshole. He tries to trip Gordon up and takes credit that really isn't his. With that help of Gordon and Batman Harvey puts away cop killing villain called the Savage Skull ( i know that is a pretty cool name.)

After telling Gordon that he might be wrong about him Harvey calls a press conference and takes credit and then tells the media that he did all the work while Gordon got in his way. Like i said Harvey is a real dick. But the best stories is when Robin starts dating a girl named Dala and she and her brother turn out to be Vampires and she bites Robin. As a vampire Robin in turns bites Batman turning him into a vampire!

In the end with the help of a priest Batman is able to overcome Dala and her brother (The Monk) and find a cure for both he and Robin. Let me say that the art is top notch and how could it not be it by one of the best in the industry Gene Colan. This was worth the $40 i paid for it. It's some of the finest Batman work out there. Since you have some many talented people working on it, it really feels like a bronze age Marvel Comics version of the Batman. Let me tell you, that ain't a bad thing. Not at all.